The future of Virgil van Dijk has been a talking point ahead of a massive weekend for Liverpool
Liverpool have the opportunity to earn back-to-back Premier League wins this weekend for the first time since December. The Reds clinched their first league win of 2026 last Saturday by defeating Newcastle United 4-1.
Returning to Anfield on Sunday, it's Manchester City that awaits Arne Slot's side in a match that could have huge consequences for their chase of Champions League football next season.
In the midst of their defensive injury crisis, Liverpool fans were offered somewhat of a reprieve on Thursday when Slot revealed that Joe Gomez could play a part in Sunday's clash as he continues to recover from a hip injury.
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The Reds are expected to start their natural centre back pairing of Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk against City, with the latter's future being teased by his head coach ahead of the match. Mirror Football delves into the biggest stories regarding the reigning league champions.
Van Dijk's future
It was midway through last season when Van Dijk signed a two-year contract extension to remain at Anfield. With 16 months left on his deal, the Reds know that sooner or later, a replacement plan must be set in stone to ease the departure of the legendary departure.
The club have certainly prepared well thus far given the signing of Giovanni Leoni last season and Jeremy Jacquet earlier this week. Liverpool also brought in teenage defenders in Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe during the winter window to bolster their defensive ranks for the future.
However, Arne Slot teased in his pre-match press conference on Thursday that Van Dijk could very well remain at Anfield beyond the end of his contract next summer. Discussing Liverpool's plans for the future, Slot said: "You are longer here than I am so if I tell you they do everything with a reason you are not surprised.
"We never panic, it's always long term and thought about for a long time and not by just one person. We know Virgil won't play for 10 years but he has a year left, maybe longer at us, he stays fit and what a compliment that is to him he can play every 3 days.
"Hopefully he can stay fit for multiple years but this club is not stupid. We do know somewhere in the upcoming years there is life after Virgil but that is for every position. We don't think about short-term only, it is mid to long as well."
'Strange errors' criticism
The Reds captain has uncharacteristically made several mistakes this season, although only one of his errors has directly led to a goal in the Premier League, according to StatMuse. Regardless, it's been a below-par season for Van Dijk who has been blamed for Liverpool's disappointing campaign by football icon Ruud Gullit.
The Dutchman, who won the Ballon d'Or in 1987, urged his compatriot to improve his form, admitting he's witnessed mistakes made by the defender that he's never seen from him before. "I have been critical of Virgil van Dijk several times, because he’s the Liverpool captain," Gullit told Gambling Insider.
"Put it this way, if there is an orchestra where the violinist is not performing well, I’m not going to scream at the violinist, I’m going to be pointing the finger at the director. He is in front of his performers and is responsible for when something goes wrong.
“I rate Van Dijk very highly, but he has made a lot of mistakes this season, with a lot of strange errors like the handball against PSV Eindhoven and the miskick at Bournemouth. These are things that I’ve never seen before from him. I really hope that Van Dijk sees and addresses these errors, knows that he has not been playing well, and can return to his best soon.”